Healing Justice Needs Assessment and Program DevelopmentThe American Friends Service Committee
Conducted an assessment of needs and opportunities for furthering healing justice in Minnesota, and made recommendations for new program development and design.
November 2011 – January 2012

Conference Organizing and Network DevelopmentMinnesota Presencing Community
The goal of the Minnesota Presencing Community is to strengthen the Minnesota hub of people practicing awareness-based collective action methods in pioneering a more sustainable, inclusive, and aware society. Michael initiated the Minnesota Presencing Forum, and worked in partnership with many other organizations and individuals to organize and facilitate the development of a series of gatherings to nurture this emerging network.

Grant Proposal ReviewerWrote evaluations of grant proposals for Second Chance Act Mentoring federal grant offered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The grants fund mentoring and other services for people leaving prison.
May 2010 & June 2011

Program Development and Grant Proposal WritingFacilitated the development of a summer youth program serving East African youth through the Pan-African Community Organization in Minneapolis, MN. Wrote a grant proposal for the program. The grant was approved.
February 2010

Congregational Discernment
Co-facilitated (with John Ackerman and James York) a discernment process with North Presbyterian Church in North St. Paul, MN. A “God Connection Team” brought innovation and personal reflection to congregational challenges. [Read comments about Michael’s work from John Ackerman]
January 2010

August 2009Facilitation of Community Visioning Session
Facilitated community visioning meeting of the Minnesota Second Chance Coalition, a collaboration that does advocacy to remove barriers to success for people with a criminal record.
June 2009

Facilitation of Congregational Discernment
Facilitated discernment at Faith Mennonite Church about ways the congregation was called to be more engaged in their community, through service, outreach, and activism. [Read comments from Joetta Schlabach, Pastor]
Fall/Winter 2008

Group Facilitation: Decision Making about Organizational Leadership
Facilitated a membership meeting at a Zen Center, where they selected their new guiding teacher.
October 2006

Grant Proposal Reviewer

I wrote evaluations of grant proposals for this federal grant offered by the Office for Victims of Crime. The purpose of the grant was to increase public awareness of crime victim rights and resources in under-served communities.
March 2006, March 2007, and May 2008

Focus Group Facilitation, Access to Education for Offenders and Ex-Offenders

I recruited and facilitated a focus group of representatives from education, corrections, ex-offender, and community groups to assess gaps and opportunities in access to education for offenders and ex-offenders.Recommendations for programming at the Council on Crime and Justice came out of the focus group.
February 2005

Organizational Evaluation and Strategic Planning

I coordinated an organizational assessment with the South St. Paul Restorative Justice Council. The assessment used Appreciative Inquiry and Action Research methods to prepare for strategic planning.
Summer 2004

Project Coordinator, Meeting Victims’ Needs Post-Conviction

I coordinated this project sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Corrections and the Minnesota Center for Crime Victim Services, Meeting Victims’ Needs Post-Conviction Study Group.I facilitated a group of 30 people from corrections and victim services as they evaluated how crime victims’ needs could be more fully met after the offender’s conviction.The group made recommendations to state and community agencies for ways these needs could be more fully addressed. See the report from this project.
January 2003 – May 2004

Organizational Conflict Resolution / Meeting Facilitation Consultant. Provided mediation and coaching in meeting facilitation to the 5th Congressional District Green Party of Minnesota.
December 2003

Organizational Conflict Consultant
Facilitated a meeting for Friends General Conference, a national Quaker organization, about an internal conflict within the organization.As part of this project, I also conducted interviews with key stakeholders and provided recommendations for next steps, using the conflict as an opportunity to strengthen the mission of the organization.
November 2003

Qualitative Research Design and FacilitationWorked on team that studied the effects of growth on the region through a series of focus groups and interviews, culminating in a written report and presentation at a community summit.
Healthy Community Council ( Harrisonburg , VA )

Spring 2002Cross-Cultural Service Project Development, El Salvador Sent as representative of Northern Yearly Meeting (Quakers) to develop proposals for joint service projects with El Salvador Yearly Meeting.Met with Salvadorans to assist in the development of peace training and violence reduction initiatives.

December 2001 – January 2002Volunteer Restorative Justice Advisor, Northern Ireland& Ireland Met with staff from Restorative Justice Ireland Network to evaluate strategies for networking Restorative Justice activities in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland .Met with members of the Alternatives to Violence Project in Dublin to help them develop a youth nonviolence training program in juvenile prisons.

November 2001Program Evaluation CoordinatorDesigned and supervised interviews done with students and alumni for an evaluation of experiences in the graduate program and their visions for its future.Wrote a report summarizing the findings.
Conflict Transformation Program, Eastern Mennonite University

Fall 2001Prison Restorative Justice Program DevelopmentWrote proposal for prison-based Restorative Justice Program that is being used as the basis for inmates, victim services, and prisoner advocacy groups jointly developing a similar program.Met with group to initiate the project.
Graterford State Prison, Pennsylvania

Fall 2001Church Conflict Consultant/FacilitatorAssisted Ron Kraybill in designing and facilitating a decision-making and reconciliation process in serious congregational conflict regarding a pastor’s tenure.
Done through the Institute for Justice and Peacebuilding (Harrisonburg, VA)

Spring 2001Facilitator of Dialogue about Sexual Orientation and the ChurchFacilitated a panel discussion about experiences with homosexuality in Christian churches.
Eastern Mennonite University

November 2000Campus Mediation Center Program DevelopmentTeam member of University Accord, a group that provides mediation and facilitation services at Eastern Mennonite.Our team started the program on the campus, carried out facilitations and mediations, and evaluated the direction of the program.
September 2000 – April 2002

Presentation to the People of Faith Peacemakers, done jointly with Charles Simmons(Sept. 2008)

“What We Can Do Now to Make Minnesota Safer 50 Years from Now.”
Presentation to Minneapolis Downtown Rotary Club (December 2007), Uptown Minneapolis Rotary Club (February 2008), Golden Valley Rotary Club (February 2008)

“Prisoner Reentry in Minnesota”

Presentation (with Hillary Freeman from the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches) at the Minnesota Americorps*VISTA Conference (May 2008).

“Public Safety and the Teachings of Jesus”

Presentation at the People of Faith Peacemakers (April 2008)

“Quaker Perspectives on Peace and Violence”

Presentation as a part of the Sacred Season of Peacemaking Interfaith Series (November 2007)

Presentation at the Inter-Agency Federal Conference on Limited English Proficiency Access (March 2007)

“Incarcerated Families”
Presentations about the impact of incarceration on families, with recommendations for how agencies can effectively engage these families (January 2007, July 2007, January 2008).

“Justice, Violence, and Prayer”Facilitated a retreat for Christos Retreat Center as part of their Spiritual Formation for Congregational Leaders program.
May 2003

“Praying at the Roots of Violence”
Facilitated a weekend retreat for the Northern Yearly Meeting (Quaker) Spiritual Nurture Program (January 2003) and facilitated a series of adult education sessions at Prospect Park United Methodist Church, Minneapolis on the same topic (September-October, 2003) and St. Joan of Arc Church, Minneapolis (Feb. 2004)

Alternatives to Violence Project workshopsLed approximately 30 3-day workshops in prisons, churches, and schools in Minnesota and Virginia.
1995- 2002

Help Increase the Peace Project workshopsJuvenile Detention Centers, Winchester, VA, and Cumberland, MD
Led 3 three-day weekend workshops for youth in the centers.
March – July 2001

“Class, Race, and Protest”; “Strategy of Nonviolent Action”For protestors at the mobilization against the Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue, Cincinnati, OH
Co-led workshops with George Lakey, Betsy Raasch-Gilman, and Daniel Hunter
November 2000

“Conflict Resolution,” University of St. ThomasCo-coordinated a section of this class based on Minneapolis police/community conflict resolution; Arranged for service learning with this topic.Student reports from this project at http://www.clarityfacilitation.com/police.
Spring 2004

“Conflict Mediation,” James Madison University
Taught a total of 6 sections of this 4-week class, which were part of the 6-credit“Individuals in the Human Community” General Education Package.I was the sole instructor for the Conflict Mediation sections of this package.During the rest of the semester, this General Education package had other subjects taught by other professors.
Spring 2001, Fall 2001, Spring 2002

“Transformative Approaches to Justice and Peacemaking,” Eastern Mennonite University, 3 credits
A survey of approaches to organizational and community-level change.Students worked in conjunction with the campus mediation center to do interviews, systemic analysis, and facilitation within the university.I designed and facilitated the majority of the class, with supervision from Ron Kraybill, who was the instructor of record.
Fall 2001

“Voices from the Inside,” Eastern Mennonite University, 2 credits
Students participated in a 3-day nonviolence workshop inside of a maximum-security prison and studied writings of prisoners.I led the vast majority of class and coordinated all of the details, with supervision from Howard Zehr, who was the instructor of record. [Read comments from Howard Zehr about Michael’s teaching]
Spring 2002

“Criminal Justice and Peacemaking,” Eastern Mennonite University, 3 credits
I assisted in the facilitation and design of this class, with the majority of the teaching being done by Howard Zehr .
Spring 2002

Comments are closed.

Comments from groups Michael has worked with:

“Michael helped us sort down dozens of ideas, dreams, proposals in a short period of time.”